NYC pushes for skyscrapers near Grand Central

Development of skyscrapers taller than the Chrysler Building may be allowed near Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal under preliminary zoning plans presented by the Department of City Planning.

A tower that high -- possibly as tall as 1,200 feet -- would have to go through a city review to ensure that it's a worthy addition to the New York skyline, said Frank Ruchala, the planning department's east midtown project manager. The Chrysler Building is 1,046 feet tall.

Ruchala spoke Wednesday night at a meeting of Community Board 5, which represents midtown residents.

The planning department, under an initiative by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is seeking ways to keep midtown's east side from losing out competitively to London, Tokyo and other financial capitals. A rezoning may affect the value of towers owned by such real estate investment trusts as SL Green Realty Corp.

SL Green in November paid about $80 million for a building on East 42nd Street, just west of Grand Central, giving it ownership of the entire block bounded by Madison, 42nd and 43rd streets and Vanderbilt Avenue.

It's "the single best potential development site in the city, if not the world," Isaac Zion, the company's co-chief investment officer, said at an investor meeting in December.

The company has no comment on the rezoning initiative, Rick Matthews, a spokesman for SL Green, said.

Under the city's plan, properties close to Grand Central, between Madison and Lexington avenues, would be entitled to acquire air rights to build towers as tall as about 900 feet. Outside that "core" area, towers of about 700 feet would be allowed.

To build higher, developers would have to seek a "new special permit to allow extraordinary buildings at key sites," Ruchala said.

Members of the community board said they were concerned about the impact that larger buildings would have on midtown streets and train and subway stations that are already congested. Some also said that the plan might put buildings deserving of landmark status at risk.

"Nobody really opposes the basic core, the basic premise, but we need more information," Vikki Barbero, the board's chairwoman, said in a telephone interview.

The planning department's proposal must undergo an environmental review and be approved by the New York City Council. The department expects to complete the process next year.